The European Parliament,

A.  having regard to the scale of the disaster caused by an earthquake in Central America, in particular in the Republic of El Salvador, which has led to an enormous number of deaths, people reported missing, wounded, displaced and a great deal of material damage,

1.  Expresses its sympathy with the families of the victims and shares the grief of the people of El Salvador and Central America at the vast scale of the tragedy;

2.  Shares the distress and despair of the population of El Salvador who, after managing to achieve peaceful and democratic coexistence and before having recovered from the effects of Hurricane Mitch, once again sees its hopes of economic and social development dashed;

3.  Welcomes the spontaneous and rapid reaction on the part of the international community and civilian organisations and calls on the Member States of the European Union to implement as soon as possible the necessary mechanisms to alleviate as far as possible the sufferings of the populations affected;

4.  Congratulates the Commission on its prompt initial response to the disaster and asks it, in collaboration with the Salvadorian authorities, to provide enough humanitarian aid to help meet the needs of the victims;

5.  Calls on the Commission, once the scale of the disaster has been ascertained, and as a joint response on behalf of the European Union, to draw up a plan for the reconstruction of the region focused on tangible objectives, allocating the resources needed to make it effective and ensure maximum efficiency and swift execution;

6.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the President of the Republic of El Salvador, the National Legislative Assembly, Parlacen, the Council, the Commission and the governments of the Member States.